6,078 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by RD Lewis Holdings Inc.

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,078 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.95. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $183.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).